A blog about dining, cooking, and eating in and around Orange County, California.

Sunday, August 23, 2009

Cham Sut Gol - Garden Grove

Although we men don't go around hunting things with sharp sticks anymore, the desire to cook and char flesh over the lapping flame seems as much an innate part of ourselves as leaving the toilet seat up.

It is, perhaps, an embrace of the primitive: a fulfillment of our basest, caveman instincts in wanting to see the fruits of the kill sizzle and sputter before we eat it.

I came to this conclusion after thinking about the last two dining outings with guy friends. Both have involved fire and meat. On these two separate occasions, with two separate groups of two different sets of males, we all collectively came up with the same, unanimous decision: we were going to have Korean BBQ.

No one objected or proclaimed they were on a diet. Salad eaters? If there were any among us, they did not identify themselves. Everyone gobbled up just as much meat as the next guy. Bleching was not looked down upon.

And with one group of buddies, every meet up since last year has been at Shik Do Rak, a Korean BBQ in Irvine.

It was here that my mates and I slapped fatty cuts of pig and cattle to brown over searing metal. Partially frozen and bloody slabs of steak and pork belly became hot, juice-dripping, charred swatches of goodness that we'd wrap around rice noodle squares and dunk in salted sesame oil.

But sensing a rut, I did what a good friend would do: for our next outing, I suggested Cham Sut Gol, a highly lauded Korean BBQ in Garden Grove. It would not only satisfy our requirement for fire and meat, but also fulfill another male-only predilection: to consume more food than one's stomach can conceivably hold.

Cham Sut Gol is an all-you-can-eat for one fixed price of $16.99.

Not only that: it is an AYCE from which you don't have to get up from your seat. Simply ask and they'll bring you more.

While my fellow meat-eaters flipped chicken, pork belly, and beef on the hot grates, I was preoccupied with the panchan. Though always customary, Cham Sut Gol's selection looked to be more immaculate and complete than most.

Though I am not saying you should, you could make a complete meal of these sides alone. The cooly refreshing potato salad was creamy without being rich, perhaps the best I've ever tasted. The chap chae noodles wiggled as I slurped. But what I liked most was the fluffy, airy, and savory egg custard served in the metal pot it's cooked in -- it comes free as part of the meal.

At the end of the night, I ate far too much, swigged more soju than I've ever drank to dissipate the accumulated meat grease, and had a great time communing with comrades.

But my mates told me something that shattered my assumption that we were just Neanderthals with indiscriminate tastebuds and bottomless stomachs: they preferred our old haunt, Shik Do Rak, eventhough it wasn't an AYCE. The meat's better there, they said.

16 Comments:

You know, if pan fried fish cakes, seaweed, kimchi radishes, kimchi cabbage, and beansprouts are included in the banchan, I COULD make a meal out of it, with a bowl of rice, of course.

My friend has THE BEST bulgogi recipe, if you want to make your own. It's so good that my husband and kids (even the 2 year old) always eat two helpings each. The only change I make is that I use pre-sliced sukiyaki meat from the Japanese market. Anyway, here is the link to the recipe, if you want to try it.

I like both too. Really, if you gave me a choice, it would be hard to decide which I'd choose. I think it'd be Cham Sut Gol right now, since it does have that awesome egg custard.

Juliet,

Thanks! I do love making bulgogi at home! I cheat and get the store-bought, pre-marinated stuff, simply because I don't know what's involved in the actual recipe. Read: laziness. This recipe seems simple enough to do. Especially with pre-sliced sukiyaki meat! Great idea.

Bill,

That's the other choice they give you if you don't want the steamed egg custard right?

Lemony,

Hey thanks! If all places offered that steamed egg thing, it would give Cham Sut Gol a run for their $16.99 per head!

FAT PANDA,

SO TRUE!

eaterdeltustin,

Tell me about it. This post made me drool more than most. And I wrote the thing!

girlrobot,

To tell you the truth, I didn't even notice that they didn't have kalbi, which is one of my favorite Korean meats...but to me, it's all about the deckle and the pork belly. Extra crispy please!

The ice cream is a nice touch, though I wish someone served it, instead of being communal.

I really need to try one of these AYCE and cook by yourself KBBQ places. All my closest options in my city are lagging behind and are not tasting as good as before! The panchan looks fantastic and I am happy to see some japchae available. Haven't seen that in my KBBQ joint in years!